Setsuna Yoshida
Setsuna Yoshida, is a Genin from the recently re-established Village Hidden in the Sound, working under the Second Otokage. Trained from a young age to become skilled within the arts of subtlety, subterfuge and espionage, Setsuna was choosen to take place in the upcoming Chūnin Exam by his master. Where he is to take the guise of a young female Genin called "Shiyo", all to enable him keep his identity a secret. With the officials of Otogakure believing that it would be most unwise for him to reveal who he is to someone who might very well turn out to be a future enemy. His purpose for entering the Chūnin Exams are as ambigeous as Setsuna himself, although its believed to be less out of being promoted to a Chūnin and more to enable him to test his mettle as a spy and agent for Otogakure. His ability to gather intelligence will surely be put to the test. In order to pose as his young, female alter ego Shiyo; Setsuna employs a mixture of a considerably advanced version of the Transformation Technique which doesn't disipate after being struck or harmed. In addition to a rather impressive Genjutsu in order to make the transformation seem much more complete. Due to how he's sustaining a Transformation Technique, and an illusion of some power - Setsuna has little actual chakra resserves to work with in the Chūnin Exams. But this is something he easily circumvents by making use of senbon coated with several powerful venoms from the various snake species which may commonly be found around Otogakure. Among these, Setsuna particularily favors the venom of the common krait. Background Setsuna was chosen from the relatively young age of 6 to become a part of the ever-growing intelligence network of Otogakure. With the current leadership placing great weight on establishing good intelligence, as it was of absolute neccessity in order to allow them to ascertain their place in the Shinobi world as one of the five great villages. With them plotting to wrest the role from Kumogakure in this moment of weakness. Unlike most other Genin, Setsuna wasn't trained in a formal academy - but was instead carefully taught skills and talents which would be highly relevant to his role as a spy, the usual curriculum of the academy was debunked in favor of specialized training. Among these were the arts of seduction, espionage, detection and sensor-type skills, meant to make it easier for him to blend in with a new community and possibly make away with powerful Hiden jutsu and techniques; anything which could potentially give Otogakure an edge. Due to their specialization within the field, Setsuna's trainers were in large majority Kunoichi, as they were the ones who were most commonly sent as spies. Under their tutelage he learned how to perform Henge with a great level of success and ability, so as to render the transformation transient and making it much more complete. To an extent that it doesn't dispel if he's hit or wounded, he later learned how to use this to transform into a particular female civilian of Otogakure, who had all the boys vying for her affection. This form would later be given the name of "Shiyo", and became an alias he would be instructed to employ. He was taught these things from the age of six to ten years of age, giving him four years of focused study as a spy and agent. Once he turned ten, and after he had received sufficient knowledge of the basics of his elected profession to be considered an amateur, the nature of the training shifted to include chakra control excersises, tutelage in regards to the effects of various venoms upon the human body. In addition to this, he also received combat-training for the first time in his life, but the Kunoichi carefully chose which skills he was to specialize in, and in order to make the most of his fine chakra control, knowledge of venoms and prior skills as a sensor, they decided upon a long-range style of combat which incorporated Genjutsu and envenomed senbon, allowing him to stay behind the ranks if nessecary and assimilate intelligence and information. He was trained from the age of six, to the age of eighteen, having been taught by various Ninja of Otogakure whenever they could find the time; once he had completed the extensive curriculum, he was finally accepted as a Genin of Otogakure. Shortly before his acceptance as a Genin however, he was given a peculiar flute by the authorities, as well as a contract with two peculiar creatures known as the Doki Brothers, whom go by the names of Red and Blue respectively. Now, Setsuna has been sent to the Chūnin Exams as a test of sorts to prove his ability as a spy, ninja and agent for his village. To help him in this cause he's been given a vast amount of extracted snake venom with which he may coat his senbon and weaponry; with strict orders not to summmon the Doki Brothers unless his transformation jutsu wears off or is otherwise dispelled. The exact reasoning behind this, is unknown, but its thought to be a part of his personal outexamination as a full-fledged intelligence agent. Appearance In his natural appearance, Setsuna is a fairly tall and rather muscular young man with pleasant facial features. Standing at above six feets in height and being in great physical shape, however, this is not for the purpose of increasing the strength of his physical blows or merely to afford him greater endurace. No, its buildt to give him a greater advantage in terms of speed and otherwise becoming an object of desire for others, as seduction and good looks are all viable tools to become a true spy, as people are always more willing to accuse someone ugly of a crime than they are to accuse someone good looking. These were all things that Setsuna learned from the Kunoichi who trained him, and he's strived to follow their advice. While in good shape, Setsuna's choice of attire is something which is noticeably odd, as its unlike most clothing used by regular Shinobi of Otogakure. Setsuna's garbs consists of a rather uncommonly woven vest of green silk with nothing underneath; the arms of the vest flaring out noticeably close to the hand. The vest is lined with a darker shade of green across the hem of the garment, the vest is connected by a strong crimson cord. In addition to this peculiar vest, Setsuna wears a similarily eccentric pair of pants, which is also woven in silk. The slacks are black and have an unusual design, for they're cut lower at the pelvic area, leaving a substantial portion of Setsuna's stomach exposed; to keep them in place, Setsuna wears an obi belt colored a darker shade of purple. Setsuna's appearance is then completed by standard white tabi and sandals. In spite of these things, there is a single detail which stands out with Setsuna, and that would be the horn-like ornaments on his head; which are quite unpleasantly grafted onto his very skull by a skilled Medical-nin. Their exact purpose is largely unknown and they do little to make him seem more affable or trustworthy - and its for this reason that Setsuna mostly disguises them with Genjutsu, in the few cases where he's acting outside of his identity as "Shiyo". While in his alias as "Shiyo" however, Setsuna's appearance predictably changes drastically to reflect his new female form, his hair, usually dirty blonde extends to roughly neck length and turns a dark shade of brown, his chest expands and he's given a sizeable bust to complete the transformation, his face has changed to become that of a woman and his muscles vanish completely being instead replaced with a narrow waistline and traditional feminine features. The girl upon which "Shiyo" is inspired, and indeed, whose form Setsuna deliberately mimics, was a healer and medic of Otogakure whom was famed for her innocence, elegance and beauty, all of which are qualities that Setsuna is fully aware will appear attractive. The woman herself is long since dead, after she contracted a fatal disease from one of her patients, but her appearance has been used post-mortem for the benefit of Setsuna and Otogakure in its entirety. Her family and admirers were hardly content with this turn of events, but didn't object, knowing full well that it would be a meaningless endeavour. Under the watchful eye of the Kunoichi he trained under, Setsuna has been made well-aware on the talents of seduction while using a female body, as well as equivalent ministrations while in his natural male form. These are abilities he frequently puts to use in order to solicit intelligence from those he meets, whether they be Shinobi, civilian or in some rare cases, even mortal enemies. Personality Having been raised by Kunoichi and trained to become a spy and shinobi from a young age, Setsuna has developed a rather detached viewpoint, distancing himself from most contemporary subjects in order to be able to fulfill his role and purpose as a ninja with much greater efficiency. Setsuna believes that emotions are "unnessecary baggage" for shinobi such as himself, and actively tries to suppress these as being highly unprofessional, a belief he adopted from the very kunoichi who trained him. True to these beliefs, Setsuna considers missions to be more important than the lives of either himself or his comrades, although this is a belief he's very open about, believing that dishonesty in the face of teammates is also ultimately inefficient. This is because dishonesty places the integrity and trust of his allies in jeopardy, which is highly detrimental to their ability to act as a team, and teamwork, despite Setsuna's stern beliefs, is something he acknowledges as being of absolute necessity. Generally, Setsuna maintains an aloof disposition; distancing himself from others and remaining reserved and remote. Apathetic and largely indifferent, Setsuna's unwillingness to socialize is attributed primarily to his belief that it is largely unnessecary, a mere triviality which may only serve to further waste precious time. Because of this, Setsuna is a rather quiet individual, being content with gathering information through meticolous observation, his talents at gathering intelligence or his abilities as a sensor. However, this isn't to say that Setsuna is bad at socializing or talking, as he's known to converse with key targets with practised ease, leading them along and gently manipulating their perception of him so as to reveal what he wants to know, all talents he was taught by the various Kunoichi who trained him. While impersonating and taking the guise of Shiyo, Setsuna's demeanor changes drastically, as in her form he makes himself out to be a ditzy, boy-chasing teenage girl without any proper skills and talents, or even general aptitude for the ways of a ninja. Commonly making himself out to be a helpless girl who constantly needs saving from lethal dangers such as butterflies, rabbits and particularly ferocious species of frogs. Shiyo has a habit of flirting with pretty much any boy she sees and is noted to be highly adept at cooking (an actual talent of Setsuna's which turned out to be quite a valuable addition to his disguise), typically preparing delicious bentos for members of her team and occasionally other people she knows. Shiyo claims to aspire to be a lovely, dependable and extraordinarily good housewife, and professes the desire to get married with a cute shinobi, settle down and get lots of children which she can attend to while her husband is out saving the world and being a man. It would almost appear that her entire reason for wanting to become a shinobi in the first place is to fulfill her own personal dreams and get a nice handsome husband which she can waste the rest of her life doting over mindlessly. Abilities Having been trained for much longer than most contemporary Genin, and as a result of not having partaken in the common curriculum provided to academy students, Setsuna's abilities are noted to be of a rather different mold than most of his fellow Genin. While most Genin seem to focus on Taijutsu and simpler forms of Ninjutsu, Setsuna has received rigid tutelage in alternative forms and styles - his background, while isolating him from those of similar rank through his age, talents and lack of formal education is still a prime catalyst to his rather specialized abilities. Unlike many other Shinobi, Setsuna prefers to not engage in direct confrontations and is usually the last person to engage an enemy in his team. Knowing that he is of much more use if he is permitted to stand at a distance from his opponents, where he is capable of employing his skills as a sensor and a skilled user of genjutsu to his maximum ability. While he usually attacks with genjutsu transmitted through the medium of distinct sound waves, Setsuna is also known to make copious use of his poisoned senbon to incapacitate or kill key targets. Setsuna's indirect approach to combat lends itself well to his alter-ego "Shiyo", who he frequently makes out to be shy, indecisive and hopelessly innocent or naive in an attempt to draw opponents to him. Especially those whom are enchanted by her good looks and apparent distress. According to Setsuna "Men are often willing to believe two things about a woman: That she is innocent and in need of protection; and that she finds him attractive". Echolocation & Sound-Related Abilities In the wake of Orochimaru's defeat at the hand of Itachi Uchiha the new authorities of Otogakure began to rummage through old research papers, abandoned projects and discontinued inventions, one of the first things they found were two peculiar thorn-like objects which seemed to be a pair of sorts, those who discovered it initially had no clue what these objects were actually going to be used for, seeing as how Orochimaru never got to explain what they were supposed to do, nor did he ever test them on any of his subjects. However, after some more searching through the late Otokage's belongings and old research they discovered that the two thorns were actually meant to be transplanted directly onto the skull of their target. However the schematics specifically demanded a very peculiar chakra ratio to operate on its highest level. After the authorities spent a year trying to discover someone who could use this equipment, they at last found the then seven-year old Setsuna who agreed to the procedure, having been informed that it was his duty as a ninja of Otogakure to agree to help his village whatever way he could. The exact process of implanting the "horns" however, was a rather complex surgery and required a skilled medical-nin; eventually one was found in the form of an eccentric missing-nin of unknown origin, who displayed great aptitude within the art of medical ninjutsu. He performed the surgery and demanded a most curious compensation, namely that five young men of the village were to follow him on his road to be become a great healer and medic, as his own personal disciples, they were never seen since. Only after the deed was done and the tools had been successfully transplanted onto the young Setsuna was he informed of just why it was necessary that the device be transplanted onto his skull. It would turn out that the peculiar devices required close proximity to the crown chakra of the wearer; this being a necessity because of their rather specific function. These tools being designed as a method to enhance the sensory prowess of the chosen Shinobi by allowing them to generate, emit and comprehend powerful sound waves at will by running an amount of chakra through these "horns" - this causes them to emit a certain frequency which is inspired by the echolocation ability native to species of bats; which emanates from their person in all directions like a 360' degrees sound wave. Once this sound wave connects with something, anything, it rebounds back towards the wearer and transmits the information like a succession of pictures inside the casters mind, a mental, genjutsu-like effect which allows the caster to perfectly picture things such as weaponry, age, gender, body build and overall appearance, with the sole exception of concrete details such as facial features. The sound wave is connected to the caster through their crown chakra, and the caster can cause it to withdraw early by having their equipment quite literally "syphon" the frequency out of thin air, causing it to recede back to the caster and give them intelligence as per usual. However, these are but a few of the applications a skilled user may have for the this equipment. *'Sound-Based Genjutsu': Because the sound-waves released by Setsuna are empowered and transmitted through the use of Setsuna's chakra, because of this, they may be used in much the same manner as Setsuna's flute - as a way to transmit genjutsu over large areas; while these genjutsu are much weaker than the Mateki in terms of sheer force, they're nonetheless very useful in that they're inaudible to most humans and may be applied over a wide area and on a massive scale. Their complexity is low, which makes them easier to break, and for this reason they're almost always used to produce minor phantasms - their prime advantage being that the victim is typically incapable of identifying that they're caught in a genjutsu, due to how there is rarely any discernible symptoms. This ability however, is most useful as a way to relay information and plan strategies in the middle of combat, as he's capable of using genjutsu to transfer important intelligence to his allies through mediums such as visual and audial input. When used on opponents this is often used prior to Setsuna actually employing his true abilities with genjutsu, as a way to weaken their resistance beforehand and ensure that his genjutsu strikes home. Enhanced Hearing: As a side effect of the genetic modifications made upon him in conjunction with special training that served to hone his senses other than sight, Setsuna acquired extrasensitive hearing and uses this innate ability to great effect both in and outside of combat. By his own admission, his sense of hearing is one of his greatest boons as a spy as it allows him to listen to conversations from the distance of around twenty meters without difficulty, even if the targets in question are whispering. With ease he can make out words and sentences with innate clarity, and is thus usually privy to sensitive strategies and tactics even before his opponents would initiate them. With practiced ease, Setsuna is capable of tracking targets at this distance, and at shorter ranges he's even known to be capable of picking up on their emotional and mental state, even their identity by the sound of their very footsteps - claiming that all individuals produce different sounds while moving, sounds which can be tied into several distinct emotions and categories. Setsuna's abilities even allows him to pinpoint certain skills that his enemies might possess, such as determining certain skills his opponents possess by the sound of their footsteps, along with their general inclination in battle. Up close, Setsuna can also pinpoint targets emotions by listening to their heartbeat and breathing patterns, this including detecting fluctuations to determine whether they're lying or not. *'Chakra Enhanced Hearing': While his ordinary hearing is considered incredible in its own right, Setsuna is capable of greatly increasing the extent through which he can tap into this innate ability by channeling chakra to his ears; greatly augmenting his natural hearing to five times its original value. While using chakra to empower his sense of hearing, the range of which Setsuna can pinpoint others is nothing short of immense; as he can hear anything that happens within the scope of a massive hundred meters without any difficulty at all, conversations are audible from massive ranges and the words spoken and their voices are clear. Every single footstep tells him volumes about the upbringing, gender, goals and training of an individual, which when combined with their heartbeats, breathing rates and vocal patterns allows Setsuna to generate a picture in his mind of who they might be, a picture which is usually correct. Through his extraordinary ability to analyze what he hears, Setsuna's abilities as a sensor are at their height when he's employing chakra-enhanced hearing; due to his ability to memorize the voices of others, he's even capable of picking out identities while hearing, and his training and discipline allows him to distinguish certain discussions and conversations even in a never-ending torrent of similar discussions. However, while this is an excellent tool, Setsuna is somewhat hesitant to make use of it, claiming that its quite unpleasant to be bombarded with an overwhelming flurry of voices and sounds all at once. With this, Setsuna is even capable of hearing infra and ultrasounds, which are normally below and above the hearing range of humans. Ninjutsu & Chakra Prowess Setsuna's chakra reserves are noted to be below average, which by his own admission is actually a boon in his line of work. As it enables Setsuna to blend in with crowds of people without needing to mask his own chakra, as his reserves are noted to be only slightly superior to those of most civilians and academy students. This makes Setsuna a man who is very commonly underestimated or trivialized in comparison to the individuals whose chakra is considerably more potent, Setsuna couldn't be any happier with this development though, as it makes most shinobi opt to ignore him in favor of his more powerful teammates such as Hibiki Fuka. However, to compensate for his lack of raw chakra strength and potency, Setsuna is in possession of refined chakra control, which allows him to extend the length and scope of the techniques he does employ quite significantly. For example, Setsuna is capable of extending the length of the Transformation Technique enormously, allowing him to continuously sustain it for roughly four days before he needs to replenish the technique. During this time, Setsuna's chakra is only taxed slightly each day to compensate for the increased strength of the transformation technique, as well as to ensure that it doesn't dispel easily. This added limiter to his chakra reserves only serve to strengthen Setsuna's position by making him even more difficult to notice, while not inhibiting his abilities in direct combat overmuch, as most his abilities require little in the way of chakra. Due to Setsuna's propensity for employing genjutsu or various types of venom while largely disregarding other Shinobi techniques. Summoning Technique Setsuna was taught the summoning technique as part of his curriculum during his training with two particular Kunoichi of Otogakure, and it was along with this knowledge that he was taught how to brew and mix venoms and poisons, an indispensable skill for any spy, both to ensure that he can mix a poison strong enough to kill him should he be captured, but also in the event that he's asked to assassinate a key figure. Unlike most other Shinobi who know of the summoning technique, Setsuna doesn't summon massive fighters from the animal realm to fight alongside him in combat, indeed, what he summons aren't even actually loyal to him at all, and would definitely not help him. Setsuna instead summons several species of snakes native to Otogakure, which includes the black mamba, saw-scaled vipers, most species of krait, the chain viper and a few species of cobra. These are, despite being summoned by Setsuna still largely wild animals and their first priority when summoned into a new location is to hide and slither away from humans - however, should Setsuna will it, he's capable of hypnotizing these snakes with genjutsu to command them to attack enemies he'd designate, in a manner similar to that of a snake charmer. Accomplished by playing upon his flute and gesturing with somatic and elegant movements, the exact genjutsu used is largely unknown to most as its a secret of Otogakure developed due to their close kinship with snakes. However, due to the difference between snakes and humans, Setsuna is as of yet incapable of having the snakes perform any complicated actions, usually being limited to preventing them from attacking one another and converge upon a single collection of foes as well as attack at his command. Despite its limitations, this is quite an effective technique; as its useful both for assassinating key targets as well as delivering messages should the need arise. Taijutsu To be an effective spy, Taijutsu isn't one of the talents put most in focus, but it is nonetheless important for body conditioning, agility and mobility. The Kunoichi taught Setsuna that part of being a spy and an agent was to be capable of maintaining great speeds so as to allow him to escape from would-be assailants and thus allow him to deliver his acquired intelligence to his superiors, either by use of doves or personally. Whatever method is most readily accessible. True to this ideal, Setsuna is capable of moving at great speeds, allowing him to vanish from sight entirely and reappear somewhere else, this transition appears so quickly that normal eyes simply cannot track his movement. Although Dōjutsu such as the Sharingan and the Byakugan are another case entirely. Although even to their advanced sight, he'd be notoriously difficult to track, visible as but a faint blur, and even the Sharingan, for all its powers of perception would require two tomoe before it could fully visualize his movement. This speed however, doesn't merely extend to running, as the Kunoichi who trained him remarked that of equal importance to fleet of foot, was a keen mind and honed reflexes which could allow him to react to incoming attacks almost instantaneously and with no wasted movement or force. To drill into Setsuna the importance of reflexes, they employed a grueling training program where they would continuously throw poisoned darts at him while he was blindfolded, the poison wasn't lethal by any means, but it was excruciatingly painful, to the degree that it was all-consuming. Being punished by this blinding agony every time he was too slow to evade an attack, and learning to fear the attacks of his adversary Setsuna's reflexes became honed to nigh-perfection over the years he spent with the Kunoichi. This allows Setsuna to react immediately upon sensing danger, however, he must possess the necessary ability to act in surprise attacks, simply knowing when an attack is coming means nothing if he doesn't possess the capability to evade it, however, due to his great dexterity and speed this is only rarely a foreseeable issue. But these training methods weren't merely fashioned to improve Setsuna's reaction speed, they were also planned with several other purposes in mind. Perhaps most obvious of these is that they wished to significantly decrease Setsuna's susceptibility to pain and torture, as those are tools commonly employed on captured spies in times of war in an attempt to force them to spill their allegiance, secrets and the goals and identities of their employers. Because of this training, Setsuna possesses an uncanny ability to withstand agony of almost any sort, brushing it off and continuing his mission largely unfettered. The second motive however was to bestow upon Setsuna a certain resistance towards toxins of various forms by continuously exposing his body to these harmful substances while meticulously healing them, this gradually caused his body to adapt to certain types of toxins, particularly neurotoxins and cytotoxins of lesser toxicity. Especially the venoms native to the species of serpents bred in the various bases of Otogakure. Senbonjutsu & Venoms While not a fighter by trade, Setsuna possesses advanced skill within the art of Bukijutsu, particularly in regards to his mastery over the slender needle-like weapons called senbon, while usually not favored for battle due to their decreased force and lethality as opposed to shuriken and kunai, when wielded by someone as skilled as Setsuna these throwing needles become truly fearsome weapons. While mostly used for the express purpose of medical treatment with methods such as acupuncture, Setsuna, being highly aware of the human body is capable of using them to great effect. Throwing them with such surgical precision that he's capable of hitting a vital spot from a distance of up to fifteen meters with great ease, his knowledge of acupuncture is great enough that he might instantly dispatch a target with only a single well-aimed strike to a specific acupuncture point, allowing him to capture enemies with ease or assassinate key targets from afar. Through his extraordinary hearing and great mental acuity and accuracy, Setsuna is capable of intricate attacks by manipulating the trajectory of his senbon while they're still in mid-air, he accomplishes this by listening to their movement in the air, employing his enhanced hearing as a way to accurately pinpoint where they're headed and how far away they are. He can then throw additional senbon at them, masterfully deflecting senbon off of one another in mid-air to hit targets normally beyond his reach, he manages to do this with great fluidity, a true testimony to his advanced hearing and quickness of both mind and body. In battle, Setsuna frequently employs his senbon like this, turning what should've been a linear and simple pattern of offence into an unpredictable and lethal swarm of senbon approaching from all conceivable directions. In combat, senbon are Setsuna's weapon of choice at all times, much preferring how easy it is to handle them in comparison to other more traditional shinobi weaponry. While its difficult to throw more than a single kunai at a time, Setsuna has displayed enough proficiency with Senbonjutsu to simultaneously throw almost a dozen senbon at once with a single hand, although he prefers to throw them in a systematic fashion while making sure to always keep at least one senbon in each hand for close-range attacks and defense if the need should arise. However, by far the most deadly aspect of Setsuna's senbon is that they are, almost entirely without exception coated with some form of venom, each of these various venoms are derived from several indigenous species of snakes found within the territories of Otogakure. These serpents are often bred by Otogakure as well, and are widely researched by the medical-nin of the village in order to find ways to make their venom even more deadly, this has resulted in certain unique forms of venom which aren't found naturally and are artificially produced by Otogakure for the express purpose of being used in missions. Currently the following venoms are most commonly employed by Setsuna; each of the relevant symptoms and effects of the venom are attributed to single sting from any of his venom-tipped senbon - an individual who is hit by more than one at a time will suffer greatly empowered symptoms based on the specie of snake and the amount of venom in circulation. *'Bungarus Solution': The Bungarus Solution differs from most of Setsuna's other venoms in that as opposed to being taken from a singular specie of snake, its instead concocted as a lethal mixture of several snake venoms which are known to be compatible with one another, but the exact creation of this particular poison is most complicated, as its necessary to form an harmonious balance between the various enzymes and toxics used. Setsuna was taught to brew this venom himself, and he was also taught of various other alternative ways to make it so that it becomes more difficult to counteract, although this has of yet proven unnecessary. The Bungarus Solution is named as such because its essentially a combination of the venoms produced by two particular species of the Bungarus genera, which are most commonly referred to as kraits. While its possible to create the Bungarus solution by employing any type of krait, Setsuna's version most commonly makes use of two species in particular, whose venom are noted to function especially well together; these being the common krait and the many-banded krait, although it often contains minor compounds of other similar species. When the venom is first injected, it doesn't hurt at all, as the venom numbs the area around the site of the injection, with many misinterpreting the injury as merely being an insect bite at first. Additionally symptoms of envenomation are commonly quite delayed and rarely surface before around fifteen minutes after the injection itself, these symptoms pain in the chest region, an acute feeling of weakness, labored breathing, general aching and an overwhelming desire to sleep. After the symptoms have surfaced the body of the victim gradually becomes unresponsive, as the poison alters, distorts or even outright destroys the synapses which help operate the body. Once the symptoms emerge in full, commonly after only twenty minutes or so the venom has generally progressed quite far and even if antivenin is administered, the mortality rate is still around seventy percent. However, while the common krait and the many-banded krait are known to kill within the span of around five hours, the Bungarus Solution is much slower acting in its nature, but is even more deadly than the common variant, with death being guaranteed unless treatment is received. If death occurs, it occurs slowly in an agonizing process, commonly after two to three days of prolonged suffering. The cause of death is mostly strangulation, as the venom eventually paralyses the diaphragm of the victim, although cases where it has reached the heart and paralyzed it instead are also known. In those cases, death happens much quicker. *'Black Mamba Venom': By all accounts the deadliest venom in Setsuna's arsenal is the venom stemming from the infamous black mamba. Known as carrying the kiss of death among the farmers, civilians and even the shinobi of the Land of Sound; this species of snake belonging to the mamba genus is described by various healers and medics as being outright impossible to survive without immediate and vigorous treatment, which includes a great amount of antivenin and often highly extended recovery. The venom of a black mamba is so powerful that its estimated that only 10-15 micrograms is enough to kill a healthy adult; and whenever this venom is applied to Setsuna's senbon its usually applied in a 50 mg dosage, making just the slightest wound potentially lethal to anyone hit by even a single senbon. Even if the venom is somehow cured before it can kill its target, the speed at which the toxins travels through the body is the highest of any snake, and it goes straight for the nerves, shutting down the central nervous system and major organs, within ten minutes of the venom being injected, Setsuna's victim typically experience neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. These include a rapid onset of dizziness, drowsiness, coughing or difficulty breathing, convulsions, and an erratic heartbeat. Other common symptoms which come on rapidly include neuromuscular symptoms, shock, loss of consciousness, hypotension, pallor, ataxia, excessive salivation, limb paralysis, nausea and vomiting, ptosis, fever, and very severe abdominal pain. Those who suffer a single sting from Setsuna's senbon are usually rendered comatose within the hour, and death typically occurs between four to six hours following the envenomation. However, in the cases of opponents being hit by more than one senbon, death is known to occur much quicker, with death sometimes occurring as little as thirty minutes after envenomation. These occurrences are very common, given how Setsuna usually throws about a dozen senbon at once. *'Hemotoxins': Genjutsu For a spy, one of the most useful and cherished tools of the trade is genjutsu, this somewhat uncommon shinobi art allows the user to freely beguile and manipulate the minds of their opponents, projecting realistic illusions and phantasms to give them an edge in battle. But this is truly not what makes the art so favorable for a trained spy such as Setsuna, that would be the practically unlimited possibilities it bestows upon a user. The Kunoichi he trained under taught him primarily genjutsu which were more suited for gathering information, manipulation and deceit - in particular is he noted to possess a great deal of affinity towards illusions and phantasms which are tailored for interrogation. As these were of particular note to his teachers, and especially useful as many of them can be employed under the guise of friendship, casual contact or even romantic escapades. However, despite his propensity for employing genjutsu whose role isn't strictly adapted to combat, and his overall avoidance of employing it in battle (preferring instead to make use of his other talents), Setsuna's abilities which genjutsu are nonetheless noted to be highly advanced for a Genin; most likely owing to the fact that he's had much experience with them, has lived and studied for seven years longer than most contemporary Genin and his natural affinity for the art. Indeed, most genin only possess a rudimentary understanding of genjutsu, and only a very few individuals are capable of employing it themselves due to how advanced it is for their level, as it commonly requires a more developed mind and greater control of chakra to be effective. This grants Setsuna an advantage against most other genin as they're commonly unable to respond properly to mental attacks and effects. Among the simpler applications of Setsuna's arsenal of genjutsu is the ability to confuse and disorient an opponents sense of direction, along with their visual stimuli in order to cause them to misinterpret and confuse their own surroundings as something entirely different - these basic techniques, while simple, are still highly effective when it comes to beguiling unsuspecting prey or making a quick escape. Both of whom are necessities of Setsuna's craft. Furthermore, the nineteen year-old genin is also experienced and skilled enough to know how to weave additional genjutsu into an overlapping weave of clever phantasms; a task accomplished by throwing the opponents senses off-balance by applying two interwoven streams of chakra at once, as opposed to merely a single flow, these two flows remain separate but identical, disguising one another to great effect. This clever trick is an effective means through which Setsuna can fool even other sensors, as even if they're capable of seeing that the flow is amiss, there's often a chance that in their hurry to rid the subject of his genjutsu, they'll overlook the secondary stream, thus ensuring that his genjutsu isn't wasted and that both the sensor and their patient wrongfully assume his phantasm dispelled. The extent through which he may apply this technique is virtually endless, and he's known to use it very often, despite the added chakra expenditure necessary. Frequently placing a rather harmless genjutsu in place first, as a double feature to both confuse the opponent and lower their mental barricades first hand, before setting the secondary genjutsu to take affect after the first one is either removed or a certain time has passed. Should the victim wish to use Genjutsu Dissipation, the two streams need to be removed simultaneously, which is only possible if the subject is aware that they're affected by two genjutsu at once. To maximize his potential within genjutsu, Setsuna was given one of the few remaining flutes of Tayuya, or Mateki as they're more commonly known by the authorities of Otogakure, these are objects with a particularly strong association with genjutsu, made from a special wood and reinforced with Fuinjutsu seals, their gentle tunes and music are known to induce powerful hallucinogenic effects in those who listens to them, weave dreams and allegedly spin them into reality. While its commonly associated with the three ogres, or Doki - Setsuna confesses that he's not yet reached the level of skill where he might forge a pact with them. The Mateki have the unique quality of strengthening any genjutsu cast by using them as a medium, and they also allow Setsuna to perform very powerful genjutsu on their own. Whenever Setsuna wishes to use the Mateki, it demands a rather large amount of chakra to "awaken" it, with the chakra being necessary to rouse the seals and enhancements in it to awaken, only then does it reach its full potential. This step must be repeated for roughly every additional hour Setsuna would wish to use it, with its initial activation "paying" for the first hour. The prime benefit of the Mateki, is that it allows the user to employ generic genjutsu, which requires no hand signs and only a modicum of chakra; these are illusions which may affect all that listen to the sound of the Mateki, and they're often used to produce relatively minor illusions, which are largely more practical than standard genjutsu. One of the prime enhancements to his abilities within genjutsu that the Mateki affords Setsuna, is that it allows him to use genjutsu to affect all creatures with the ability to respond to sound, although he can only target a single specie at once by employing genjutsu in this manner. The most common application being to beguile and manipulate the snakes he summons for reconnaissance and espionage purposes, but also to use them to stealthily assassinate key targets from afar while drawing little to no attention to himself. Lastly, while playing the flute he can mask his own presence for as long as he plays, as he remarks that the reason the Mateki is such a powerful tool for genjutsu users, is that it works by the music and sound dividing the attention of the listeners towards something else - however, despite the fact that Setsuna is actively playing, the very music he plays isn't audible to anyone under the spell of the Mateki. Interrogation Genjutsu: One form of genjutsu which Setsuna has managed to make a name for himself in is the general interrogation genjutsu, this genjutsu is unsuitable for combat but is an effective tool for interrogation; as the user of the genjutsu continuously invades their chakra into their body to larger-and-larger effect. Subjecting the subject to a form of psychological torture as their innermost crevices seem to be forced open and examined, this is an entirely psychological effect, but its noted to be an extremely unpleasant sensation - being likened to having a nest of worms crawling around inside your head, soiling your dearest memories with their disgusting saliva and bile. This translates into an ever-growing feeling of repulsion and nausea, like being entirely submerged within a sickening wave of bile, at first, it starts out slow and even, but still disgusting. In time however, it instead turns into an unbearable sensation, inducing brilliant nausea, violent migraines and all-encompassing feeling of uncleanliness and disgust - their own senses strangling them in a slimy chokehold. Most victims tend to break after the for, almost irrelevant of their status, willpower and experience - they break down in tears, spilling their secrets and usually puking on the spot due to the emotions and feelings so viciously invoked by the genjutsu. Setsuna's proficiency with this technique is noted to be intense enough that weaker victims often beg to be put out of their misery, and many of his victims have developed long-lasting trauma as a result of this forceful invasion. : A relatively simple, yet strikingly effective genjutsu technique, especially for someone like Setsuna, whose primary form of offence relies mostly on venoms to do the job for him. Setsuna attaches bells to senbon, when thrown and upon hitting something, the bells ringing sound produces a particular sound-wave, which travels from the inner air directly to affect the brain, which soon causes hallucinations - typically making the victim see multiple images of the user; this is inordinately effective when used by Setsuna - as instead of evading a dozen senbon, the user strains themselves to avoid hundreds. With continued exposure to the ringing produced by these bells, the target suffers from vertigo, and their sense of balance is typically weakened considerably - making them prone to falling and losing control over their own limbs. : Doubtlessly the most powerful technique in Setsuna's arsenal is penultimate genjutsu of the Mateki. This genjutsu may only be performed by wielding such a flute, and it relies upon sound to work. Once Setsuna begins playing, the music of the Mateki emanates outward in ripples, its breathtaking tunes beguiling the senses of anyone who hears it, making them succumb to the attractive lull of their own dreams. The genjutsu is frequently misunderstood in its application, most assume it to be a genjutsu devised for torture, but this couldn't be further from the truth, rather its a genjutsu which forces the target into a dreaming state, even while they're still very much awake - but unlike regular dreams, these ones are at the full control of the original caster. Once the unfortunate targets are properly "chained", not necessarily by imaginary chains or restraints, but by their very own mind and the charming hymn of the Mateki, the caster may freely adjust the genjutsu as they see fit, introducing new horrors to them at their leisure, or alternatively producing a pleasant scene, an ideal paradise of which the subject wishes they would never have to leave. This genjutsu, while very powerful and immensely useful and convenient, is still a technique which Setsuna is loath to employ unless the situation warrants it, for one thing, the amount of chakra necessary to broadcast such a powerful phantasm over a wide area with an almost instantaneous onset time is huge on its own, and its only heightened by the Mateki's cost of activation. But even beyond this, its also a genjutsu which is very unforgiving towards allies and friends, in that even cowering ones ears is rarely enough and that they too are rendered incapacitated by it. Which makes it a very tricky and at times even suicidal phantasm, despite its great power. Its dangers considered, this genjutsu is still the ultimate tribute to the Mateki's supposed ability of making dreams real, for its phantasms and its grip on the senses are noted to be so powerful that they're virtually indistinguishable from reality, no matter how unlikely the scenario it presents may be. Because this genjutsu epitomizes the gullibility of a dreamer and projects it upon the world around the caster like a palpable wave, with the strength to force entire battalions in knee. Stats Trivia *There only a single days difference between Setsuna's Birthdate and that of the author, Njalm2. Setsuna is born the 26th of April, whereas the author is born at the 27th of April. Category:Genin Category:Njalm2 Category:Characters Category:Male